Thread: Which brand do you prefer?

If I would ask which brand of 1k do you like best, most of us would respond that the Chosera 1k is the ideal bevel setter. We've heard this one many times.

But which brand of 3/4/5k do you prefer?

And which brand of 8k do you prefer?

And when we get to the 12k most of us will say the naniwa 12k.
As far as the 3/4/5k, I will say I prefer the 3k Jnat I got recently from Sham and as far as the 5k, I much prefer the BBW.

And I definitely prefer the Norton 8k

And again the naniwa 12k.

So my main question here is which stones do you personally prefer between the 1k and the 12k. What does it best for you?......

Again, for me it's the Jnat 3k, the BBW and Norton 8k.

To answer your question I currently like the HNK Shapton Pro's in any grit, tho I don't own the 8k. I use a few Jnats also but couldn't give them a grit rating as it varies a lot considering how you use them.ie water only ,diamond plate slurry , thin slurry , thick slurry, broken down slurry, nagura. I would argue you may be limiting your Jnat by calling it a 3k. It can probably do more than you think.

I would suggest a yellow lake stone. With slurry cuts around 4k but it's quite faster than a BBW, I have a lot of experience with both, and for 8k, the yellow lake with plain water is around 8 to 10k. With oil it gets a little finer, around 2k finer from what it was. And costs 1/3 of the price compared to the synthetics. One other way is to buy just a coticule. Play with the slurry, learn how to dilute it, and you can go from 1k to 12k with the same stone. People tend to forget that with each stone (natural?) someone has, it can cut in 2 or 3 different grit levels. For a 12k stone, I have a C12k which I like a lot, and a llyn idwal, for the final edge.

I get superb results from norton 4/8k
my other set up is 3k chosera 5k super Stone, 10k Super stone
I also have 4k Gs that I like very much.

I guess I do not have a favorite brand, but the most used is 3k Chosera/5k SS/10k SS before I go to the naturals for finishing.

I prefer the King waterstones for low grits, I use the 800 and the 1k and have a 1.2k as well.

I go from that to the 4k norton, than the 6k (guessing) Washita, to the 8k norton, to the PHIG.

I usually finish between the PHIG and a Robeson Sure-Edge that I estimate is a true 12k.

THat's my favorite rotation, but sometimes the razors say different.

I use the poor mans honing method, and so far have only limited successes to build upon, but successes none the less.

Cool thread, and very interesting to see the investment in time and money everyone is willing to make to get that perfect edge..

M

I am also a fan of the King waterstones, from 800 to 8K. Though they are slow, I've personally found them to be the closest in feel and results to natural stones of all the synthetics I've tried. After that I have one of the top of the line phigs and a surgical black Arkansas that I use to finish, depending on the blade.

For me the 5 and 10K Chosera rules supreme.
Further up the grit ladder, I have consistently good results with a Sigma Select II in 13K and a Gokumyo 20K.
The 20K Gokumyo is really a fantastic finisher.

I have not tried enough hones to answer your question with any real meaning - it would simply be a list of the stones I currently own, and I am still in the process of learning how to get the best out of some of those too.

But I can tentatively say, after 6 years of using the Norton 4/8, that I have a fair amount of evidence to suggest that it is a pretty good hone for my needs. I've had the Shapton ceramics on glass for a few years also, and they seem fine as well.

One thing I am currently playing with is going from the Norton 4K to the Sigma 10K (bypassing the Norton 8K). It is working quite well actually - the Sig 10K is very fast, and the sides of the edges it produces under the microscope are very uniform indeed.

To be perfectly frank, I don't think it really matters in the end what people prefer - modern synthetics in particular are all good, so long as you take the time to learn how to get the most out of them. For example, pretty much no one here uses a Sigma 1K stone as a bevel setter but I bought one anyway and it is working out really well for me. Does it matter that the Chosera 1K might indeed be a better stone? No - I have what I have and I am getting the best I can out of it.

James.

2k super stone 5k shapton pro coti sg16k finish on a phig this is most of the time but i do change my finishers around it depends on the steel i am sharpening

Norton, Naniwa SS/Chosera, Shapton pro, I like them all!

They are all very nice, capable of very nice edges. Buy the set that appeals to you the most, if it suits you, than don't buy anything else. If you buy, than HAD will never end

That said, I like the Shapton pros and the Norton the most out of my synths.